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Thanks Arsheesh...and thanks for giving me some more terminology...I had no idea that I was 'eroding' my coastlines...i think I'm doing something similar...in fact I'm following RobA's tutorial...uh...well I think that's the one...will let you know..I've got some PDF's kicking around in my mess somewhere.

On another note...wondering about scale...I drew my drafts on an 8.5x11 sheet of paper...I'm thinking that I want a different ratio if I want a more 'realistic' map. Any suggestions on LxW for a world map?

The basic Equirectangular projection for a typical world map would have your height be half your length, I believe. Going on memory from this computer, but I think I have my poster sized (3'x2') map with a 6 inch bar underneath for any information I want shown. So, actual map of 3' wide 1.5' high. Use that projection so that it is real easy to use other programs to create other projections. And it is always a good idea to check what your world looks like on an orthographic projection before finalizing your continent shapes and placement, LOL. Goodness knows I would probably change a few things if I went back to start over.

Upon the Creation of the World the First Dragons cast their seed in the light of a Sun and a Thousand Suns, beneath the Moon and a Thousand Moons, on a World and a Thousand Worlds.

Thanks for the Tip Veldehar! I will add that to my notes That map I posted seemed a little squished to me to be a world map...I felt like I should have had more continents.....or at least more ocean between them.

As for the "at least more ocean" question, like it was mentioned earlier, there would be much more land than water if a chunk of the world was missing. Given that, I think the ratio is okay...my 2 cents worth, but your world/map so run with what feels right for you

RobA also has a "Fractalize Path" plugin for gimp that is also good for eroding coastlines. I would suggest you look at that too.

Art Critic = Someone with the Eye of an Artist, Words of a Bard, and the Talent of a Rock.

Thanks Korash...You're right about the land to water ratio. For the moment, I am trying to come up with a basic look for the map before the 'chunk' is lost. I want to map out undersea ridges etc so I know what the sea floor etc will look like when I drop water levels.

One thougt...when it comes to making the final map...anybody have any thoughts on how to 'break' off the parts of the map I want to remove? I'm wondering if I should just try to draw it as I want it to look from the beginning...or if there is a way to complete the map and then cut off the broken parts. In that case I would be going back and adding new features along the broken edge...revealing ocean floor...adding impact craters and the like. In either case...I'm still thinking I should have a completed version of the 'old world' for reference.

I think having a before and after map is a good idea, esp. if you are thinking plate movement creating mountain ridges. As far as cutting the chunk out, why not just use a mask to cut it out and then just get "artistic" drawing the surface or the "crater"...? OFC, is there any remains from the impacting body remaining in the crater?...might be an interesting question be answered...

Art Critic = Someone with the Eye of an Artist, Words of a Bard, and the Talent of a Rock.

You know...that's an interesting question for both mapping...and the story...I haven't detailed what the impacting body is...yet...I've contemplated something REALLY fantastic...like a gargantuan, living creature...but...I haven't gone that far into it yet. Just for fun...here's a link to a little narrative I did about the moment of impact: http://www.obsidianportal.com/campai...s/the-breaking

I've also been doing some searching around for examples of impact craters on the earth for inspiration...here's a couple of images I've come up with that might make it into the final map...if anyone's intereste:

and

Since I'm so new to this whole digital mapping thing...I'm still just going through the motions with the tutorials...so I'm not 100% clear on what making a 'mask' means...though I think you mean creating a layer that covers the area of the map I want to remove while leaving the rest trasparent...or something like that. I think that makes alot of sense...and sounds like it won't be too difficult to do. Thanks!

Maybe I can demystify the mask concept a bit. What you're actually doing is laying out a transparency map for the layer. If it's white, the layer is fully opaque; black is fully transparent; 50% grey is half-opaque and so forth. It's a great way to "erase" parts of the layer without actually deleting the information (which is handy if you decide that erasing wasn't a good idea after all).